CVE-2015-5608 in Joomla
Summary
by MITRE
Open redirect vulnerability in Joomla! CMS 3.0.0 through 3.4.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2019
The CVE-2015-5608 vulnerability represents a critical open redirect flaw discovered in Joomla core redirect functionality where user-supplied URLs are not adequately sanitized or validated before being processed for redirection. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious URLs that appear to originate from legitimate Joomla! domains while actually redirecting users to attacker-controlled websites.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within Joomla domains, making social engineering attacks more effective and harder to detect.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables sophisticated phishing campaigns where attackers can create convincing fake login pages or malicious download sites that appear to be legitimate Joomla across numerous websites makes this vulnerability particularly impactful, as it affects not just individual sites but potentially thousands of organizations that rely on the platform.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-5608 involve immediate patching of affected Joomla! installations to versions that include proper URL validation and sanitization. Organizations should implement strict input validation mechanisms that check redirect destinations against a whitelist of approved domains or implement proper URL parsing to ensure that redirects only occur within the same domain or to explicitly trusted external domains. Network security controls including web application firewalls and content filtering solutions can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring and blocking suspicious redirect patterns. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 Phishing, specifically targeting the initial access phase where attackers leverage trusted domains to deceive users. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should include checks for similar redirect vulnerabilities in other web applications to prevent similar issues from occurring in the broader ecosystem.